Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield has been answering lots of questions from school-aged children about life in space since he began his 6-month tenure on the International Space Station on December 19th, but perhaps the most surprisingly entertaining response to date is his explanation of how astronauts wash their hands in space.
Wondering how it works? You can check it out in the video below. Hadfield takes a package of no-rinse soap and squeezes out a blob of the substance into the zero gravity cabin of the space station. The cleanser, which looks more like a floating mass of phlegm floats freely until Hadfield brings it down with his hand. Interestingly, the water retains its globular shape, pressed against his palm until the rubs his hands together, dispersing tiny drops of soapy water into the air surrounding him. After a simple towel dry the job is done and water on the towel is placed to dry somewhere where the station can absorb the evaporated water for reuse.
Now imagine doing that with your whole body.
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Eva Voinigescu is an intern at Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter @EvaVoinigescu.
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